We moan about the traffic or having to wait at the supermarket checkout but… we have VISUALLY IMPAIRED VETERANS” out there LIVING IN THE DARK…EVERYDAY…

I have had the privilege to ski guide these wonderful individuals and upon finding out funding had been cut to get them away safely on the slopes I wanted to help make a difference to their lives...meet Carl and Mark - both had their dream careers in the military shattered as they plunged into darkness as young adults due to a degenerative eye condition .... They pay their personal contribution to go on the trip to Italy but we are trying to fund their guide @£1000 each to enable them to hit the slopes...

Carl:

The ski week in the Italian Dolomites is an annual boost equipping me with greater confidence and conviction to complete and see out challenges in other aspects of my life. The ethos and camaraderie of the trip gives me the self-belief to succeed both in sport and my working environment.

I am 52 years old, but joined the Royal Navy in 1990 aged 18 as an Artificer Apprentice, re-cat / switching to become an Aircraft Engineer Mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm. Whilst serving at shore establishment HMS Daedalus - I lost 85% of my vision in both eyes, 95% of my confidence and 100% of my career in late 1991, resulting in me being medically discharged from the RN. St. Dunstans were the vital charity at the right time to arm me with rehabilitation and prepare me for my next chapter. I have subsequently achieved a 25 year successful career working for a well-known public broadcaster and now work in the Civil Service. Due to my severe sight loss I have sampled other sports but no feeling or reward matches the freedom, exhilaration, euphoria and magic of skiing independently with the safety blanket, mentorship and encouragement of a currently serving or qualified ex-military ski guide. I have been part of the fabric of the organised week and have benefited from the ski trip for the past 20 years, with my first attendance as a novice skier in 2004. Four years ago, I tackled and nailed my nemesis of a rated black run, which gave me an immense enormous sense of glow and achievement. My personal goal is to remain mentally fit and physically healthy to continue actively skiing for the next 20 years.

Leber’s Optic Atrophy affects the optic nerve and causes profound loss of central vision (sharpness and colour, It makes reading & driving inaccessible and recognising faces difficult. With the implicit trust between guide and visually impaired skier and with the adaption of bluetooth headset communications it raises barriers, lifts spirits and converts the impossible to the art of the possible !

#Life-beyond-sight-loss.

Mark:

Before losing my sight, I was very much an outdoor/sports orientated person. I played rugby & football, was always out on the bike and loved hiking in the hills and climbing, abseiling, camping etc - not at a high level but, I loved the competing; the teamwork; the adrenaline; the air in your face and the sense of being in the great outdoors…In a blink of the eye that was gone! I tried to keep fit by going to the gym but keep fit for what? The motivation just wasn’t there…I tried to learn kick boxing but just kept getting punched in the face…I started to put on loads of weight and generally started to lose interest in life as my confidence dropped to a low eb.

I work full time within the IT industry, a sector where personal confidence is key to survive within it. Perception generally dictates that technology is making the lives of the disabled easier but, I must run and at times sprint just to keep pace with my sighted peers. The daily challenges that go together with a serious sight impairment are intense, from making a cup of coffee to analysing numbers on a spreadsheet and creating/following presentations, through to I’ll just share my screen with you so you can see, here’s a screenshot…and everything in between whilst trying to utilise specialist software that talks to you about what is on the screen whilst interacting as seamlessly as possible on calls. It’s exhausting!

In 2003, a friend had been preparing for and, telling me all about the upcoming St Dunstan’s, as it was then now Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club/Trip. Due to illness, he was unable to attend, he was gutted but insisted that I should take his place. To say it was a life changing event…!....it took me right out of my comfort zone, it challenged me beyond belief, it was a week-long emotional roller coaster that is difficult to put into words! The sense of achievement from just the basics of putting your boots on (admittedly first time out, I put them on the wrong feet), to strapping on the skis to being pulled on a button bar up the hill to somehow getting down again in one piece! I completely bit the bug as it were and, since then, over the years progressing from blue to double black diamond runs and skiing slaloms and through tree infested off-piste areas….it is fair to say it changes people who attend, it certainly did me! It challenges us, improves our confidence and self-esteem, it also shows just what we can achieve. I also find that being at the start of the year it reaffirms the can-do attitude within me and, thus sets me up to be able to positively face whatever is thrown at me with renewed vigour and with a spring in my step.

Please DONATE here to GET MARK & CARL SKIING #life-beyond-sight-loss